Finnigan v New Zealand Rugby Football Union
| Finnigan v New Zealand Rugby Football Union | |
|---|---|
| Court | Court of Appeal of New Zealand |
| Full case name | Finnigan and another v. New Zealand Rugby Football Union (Incorporated) and others |
| Decided | 21 June 1985 |
| Citation | [1985] 2 NZLR 159 |
| Transcript | High Court judgment Court of Appeal judgment |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | Cooke, Richardson, McMullin, Somers JJ, and Sir Thaddeus McCarthy |
| Keywords | |
| standing, judicial review, All Blacks, South Africa | |
Finnigan v New Zealand Rugby Football Union, was a case taken against the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), by two members of NZRFU-affiliated clubs, challenging the decision of the NZRFU Council to accept an invitation for the All Blacks to tour South Africa. The invitation came just four years after the 1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand had divided the New Zealand public over the All Blacks refusal to participate in the sporting boycott of South Africa during the Apartheid era. The decision primarily concerned whether the two plaintiffs had sufficient standing to challenge the NZRFU decision. The decision marked the adoption of the principles of R (National Federation of Self-Employed and Small Businesses Ltd) v Inland Revenue Commissioners approach to standing in judicial review into New Zealand law.